1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to oral preparations including mouthwashes and dentifrices which are free from unpleasant, bitter surfactant taste and are stable, visually clear and haze free at ambient temperatures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tomlinson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,636 discloses dental creams and mouthwash compositions free from bitter surfactant taste wherein the surfactant is an alkyl polyglycol ether carboxylate. A mouthwash having superior taste characteristics and improved clarity is disclosed by Januszewski in U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,563. The improved clarity is obtained by selecting nonionic surface active agents for their ability to solubilize one or more oily components contained in the mouthwash. Thus, polyoxypropylene-polyoxyethylene block polymers and polyoxyethylene derivatives of sorbitan esters are disclosed as useful surfactants which solubilize certain oily components and thus provide improved clarity in the mouthwash.
Pensak et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,570, also disclose a visually clear, haze-free mouthwash free from unpleasant taste which includes a nonionic surfactant which is a polyoxyethylene derivative of a sorbitan ester. These references neither disclose nor suggest the applicant's use of a nonionic surfactant consisting of the polyoxyethylene derivative of a fatty alcohol having about 15 to about 20 carbon atoms and wherein the ethylene oxide derived component of the surfactant makes up about 50 to about 90 percent by weight of the surfactant.
Jackson et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,700, disclose polyoxyalkylene surface-active block polymers, Example 6 thereof disclosing a propoxylated cetyl alcohol. There is an indication, in column 24, that the surface-active agents disclosed would have freedom from the usual bitter taste generally associated with nonionic surfactants of the prior art. However, the surfactant compositions of Jackson et al are not those utilized by the applicant as components of a mouthwash or a dental cream.